With the upcoming season quickly approaching, I’m going to be taking a look at the landscape of the NFL, position by position, over the course of the next several weeks. We’ll be talking about the who’s who of the NFL in our own little version of the NFL Network’s “Top 100 Players” bit they do every year. Up next, we have the wide receivers!
THE TOP 10 NFL RUNNING BACKS FOR 2019
10. T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts – Hilton has topped a thousand yards in five of his seven seasons. Last year, he only played in 14 games and still managed 1,270 yards. I think the Colts are going to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders this year with Andrew Luck at the helm. Though the Colts are going to want to run the ball behind that offensive line, I still think Hilton is going to have a big year.
9. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers – I’d say, “probably can’t count on 13 touchdowns again,” but the reality that you may not realize is that Adams has caught double digit touchdowns in each of the last three seasons. He’s become “the guy” in that Packers receiving corps, and as long as Aaron Rodgers is throwing the ball, he’ll be just fine.
8. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers – You worry a little bit about how his production will hold up now that Antonio Brown is an Oakland Raider. Defenses should give him a little extra attention now. But, he’s still a prolific receiver capable of piling up stats.
7. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals – Injury kept Green out of action for about half of 2018, and he still managed to grab six touchdowns on 46 catches (totaling 694 yards). People are sleeping on Green this year. At one point in his career, he was easily a top three receiver in the NFL. If he can return to that form, he could very well get back to that.
6. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Whether anyone wants to give him credit for it or not, Evans is an elite receiver in the NFL. He’s had a thousand or more yards in every season of his five-year NFL career. He’s a dynamic guy that can do just about anything. With Bruce Arians now at the helm in Tampa Bay, that’s only going to mean good things for Evans. 2019 could be his biggest year yet.
5. Antonio Brown, Oakland Raiders – Going from the Steelers offense to the Raiders offense is a huge step down in terms of a supporting cast. I like Derek Carr a lot, but he’s not exactly an upgrade from Ben Roethlisberger. In terms of yardage, AB was 11th in the league in 2018. At one point, Brown was the unquestioned best receiver in the NFL. Now, it feels like we’re starting to head towards his decline.
4. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints – It feels wrong to say there’s just something about Thomas that isn’t exciting. The dude led the league in receptions with 125 a season ago. He tallied 1,405 yards and nine touchdowns for the Saints. There’s no reason not to like him, but he’s rarely in the discussion for best in the NFL. With Antonio Brown heading to Oakland, I think it puts Thomas on the Mount Rushmore of NFL receivers.
3. Odell Beckham, Jr., Cleveland Browns – New uniform, same talent. If anything, ODB is getting a major upgrade, and boy how weird does it feel to say that? That Browns offense should be EXPLOSIVE, and I expect that to mean a major uptick in production for the former New York Giants receiver. Getting 1,052 yards on that awful passing offense a season ago is one of the most underrated accomplishments of the 2018 NFL season.
2. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons – If Jones and Hopkins had swapped teams in 2013 when Hopkins entered the league, there’s a much different book on the Falcons receiver. It’s not a knock on Jones. I’m just saying he’s been in a great situation with that loaded Falcons offense and Matt Ryan at quarterback. That said, he’s still one of the best two receivers in the NFL, and it may be closer to a “1A and 1B” situation than anything else. He’s had five consecutive seasons with 1,400+ yards – the Falcons should be better on offense, so expect another huge year out of Jones.
1. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans – I still don’t think any receiver in the NFL has proven capable of doing more with less than Hopkins has. He’s got an elite all-around game, and if he had more stability at quarterback during the earlier years of his career, he would’ve had even more monstrous numbers. With Deshaun Watson at quarterback, Hopkins is now taking his rightful spot as the NFL’s best receiver – in 2018, Hopkins caught 115 balls for 1,572 yards and 11 touchdowns.
OTHER 2019 NFL TOP 10S
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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